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The country also intends to continue the procurement exercise for the Dimona solar power plant in the Negev desert. The Israeli government also will try to remove barriers to facilitate rapid and efficient development, while improving the grid-connection process for projects.

In Brazil, like in many other parts of the world, industry associations claim that solar will be a strategic element in the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, due to its potential to create jobs, generate income, and attract new investment.

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology have proposed a new design for a diamond nanothread bundle that could pave the way for a new form of mechanical storage. Pound-for-pound, the tech could be three times more powerful than lithium-ion batteries.

The tariff is around $0.0021 lower than the $0.0156/kWh French oil giant Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp offered in Qatar’s 800 MW tender in late January. French energy company EDF and Chinese solar company JinkoPower reportedly submitted the record bid in the UAE exercise.

The 11th edition of the German document which tracks solar price falls and efficiency improvements has considered the role bigger wafers are playing in cost reduction.

The Polish solar industry is reportedly planning an offensive to claim a bigger slice of the domestic PV market. The idea was apparently floated by the head of a private renewable energy body.

Solar project developers and other component importers are among those eligible to apply for low-interest loans for up to 10 years. The government had already offered a $200 million credit line last year.

According to the latest figures from the Turkish grid operator, 109 MW of new solar was added in the first quarter, most of it net-metered rooftop systems. The troubled 1 GW national tender originally planned in January 2019, however, has been postponed for a second time, with the government stating the Covid-19 crisis will cause the exercise to be staged next year.

Manufacturer Solargiga referenced our website, rather than official channels, to have a stab at anticipating the possible effects of the public health crisis on the industry as it insisted production lines powered by bargain-basement electricity prices this year would help turn around a $50 million loss for 2019.

EuPD Research has conducted a survey showing that potential investors see Germany’s 52 GW cap for solar incentives in the residential segment as the main barrier to future growth. Renewable energy trade body Bundesverband Neue Energiewirtschaft, meanwhile, said the nation has the potential to reach 1,000 GW of installed solar capacity by 2050.